We all collect recipes for special occasions. But who has special recipes for Election Day gatherings and Election Night parties? Old-Fashioned Southern Brunswick Stew is an old southern tradition to lure people to the polls. It's a simple stew, just layers of different meats and favorite southern vegetables like corn, okra and lima beans. And it's healthy too, great for parties but simple enough for family meals too.

The facts are apocryphal so I’m sticking with the legend about Brunswick Stew, the story that captured my fancy when I looked for healthy election-night party food a couple of years ago.

The story is that in certain times and places in the American South, political players would use a big pot of thick stew – traditionally squirrel meat with southern-style vegetables like corn, lima beans and okra – to lure people to the polls on election day. Cast your ballot, stop by for stew. Whenever the pot got low, someone would head to the woods with a shotgun for more meat for the pot.

Would the promise of a pot of stew draw you to your polling station? In a few days, it will once again be time to perform our civic duty, our personal privilege, by voting. I’ll be casting my ballot, whatever your politics, I hope you will too.

And when the polls close and the votes are tallied, I sincerely hope that no matter the outcome, people of all political persuasions will gather round pots of Brunswick Stew to become something much closer to the “United” States of America than we’ve become in recent years.

There will plenty of time, tomorrow, to stand up for our ideology and our candidate. On this night, let’s celebrate our right to vote, the privilege of fair elections, even if the process, the road to the polls, is as messy and unpredictable as a big pot of squirrel stew.

HOMEMADE CAJUN SEASONING BLEND For two tablespoons Cajun Seasoning, mix 1-1/2 teaspoons each of paprika and cumin with 1 teaspoon each garlic powder, thyme and oregano.

ALANNA’s TIPS This stew makes a lot but is eminently adaptable based on what’s on hand and who’s expected for dinner. For planning, allow 1 thigh and about 1/8 pound beef per person. Another story about Brunswick Stew is that it’s used to clean out the freezer just before the opening of hunting season. So for a recent batch, I combined chicken with venison round and smoked shanks. Very good! Chicken thighs are much cheaper than breasts plus the dark meat has so much more tender flavor. I love the convenience of boneless, skinless thighs but if they’re not available, just strip the skins off bone-in thighs. So much for shortcuts. One potful, I used a bag of frozen “gumbo” vegetable mix. Bad, bad idea.

OLD-FASHIONED SOUTHERN BRUNSWICK STEW RECIPE

Hands-on time: 45 minutes
Time to table: 4 – 9 hours
Serves 12

2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

About 1-1/2 pounds chicken thighs, halved if large

About 1-1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut in bite-size pieces

Splash water

1 large onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

8 ounces frozen lima beans

8 ounces frozen corn

12 ounces frozen okra

2 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a small bowl, combine Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium high until shimmery. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkle with half the seasoning. Cook until brown and crispy, set aside and keep warm. (BROWNING TIPS The skillet should be hot enough that the chicken sizzles when put into the pan. Leave room between the pieces, no crowding. Let the chicken cook, without moving, until brown on one side before turning to cook the other side.)

In the same skillet, cook the beef pieces the same way. Set aside and keep warm.

Add a splash to deglaze the pan, then add the onion, celery, green pepper and cook, stirring often, until beginning to turn a beautiful gold color. Add garlic and cook one more minute. Set aside.

In a large wide oven-safe braising pan, build the “layers”:

Half the onion-celery-pepper mix

Cooked chicken thighs

Half the tomato

Half the frozen vegetables

Remaining onion-pepper mix

Cooked beef

Remaining vegetables

Add the chicken stock, cover and cook in the oven for at least three hours and up to six hours until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Serve tableside with rice or grits and good humor.

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!

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i LOVE Caleco's butter for their steak ,I would love to know how to make it .I just found this website and I want to thank you for posting these recipies I love to cook and like to see if I can make my food taste as good as the resturant

Hi Anonymous, I hope you get this message! I think you are writing because I write the restaurant recipe request column for the Post-Dispatch? If so, I'd be happy to ask Caleco's for the recipe for their steak butter. But I do need your name / city so if you would please write to the address, RecipeRequest@post-dispatch.com with that information (and do repeat your request, please) and I'll get to work! (More information here.)

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna